Precursors of human eggs and sperm can now be made in lab from embryonic stem cells
Posted on 29. Oct, 2009 by ARK in General
American researchers did it. They found a way to convert embryonic stem cells to those cells that can form human egg cell and sperm cells. The study has been presented in journal Nature.
Now, this could lead to better understanding of the genetically inherited diseases as well as throw insight on possible new modalities for infertility treatment.
According to the lead scientist of Stanford University in California, Dr Renee Riego Pera, “we are really trying to look at the origins of normal and abnormal human development by going to the source,”
According to her, the findings of this study will enable researchers to study the most primitive stages of human development so to find newer clues about the genetically inherited diseases as well as infertility (studying various factors including the extrinsic and the intrinsic factors that affect fertility).
Their study had been partially funded by the National Institutes of Health.
